District Does Not Share in Area's Good Showing on Unemployment

Tuesday as the District Council closed an $188 million gap in the Fiscal Year 2011 (FY2011) budget and protesters shouted about turning our backs on the poor, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the latest employment and unemployment numbers where the D.C. region comes out on top in many instances. In October 2010, the D.C. region classified as "Washington-Arlington-Alexandria" posted unemployment rates of 5.8 percent, though the District on its own came in at 9.6 percent, compared to the national rate of 9.0 percent; all rates are lower than the same month last year.

According to the BLS report "the largest over-the-year employment increase occurred in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va." with 43,700 more people with jobs. The Washington region also posted some of the largest "over-the-year percentage increases in employment among the metropolitan divisions" with a 1.4 percent increase.

Despite the positive signs for the region, D.C. continues to lag behind neighboring jurisdiction. In October, D.C. posted 9.6 percent unemployment, down from October 2009's 11.7 percent, but up slightly from September's 9.5 percent and still a far cry from the regional average of 5.8 percent.

During a  Tuesday, the District Council moved to retain $6.3 million in funding for adult job training. This as other programs like support for grandparents raising grandchildren and reimbursable details to boost police presence in bar districts lost funding. The reason, said Chairman Vince Gray, is "we want people to get back to work in the District of Columbia."

Gray pointed to high levels of unemployment in Wards east of the Anacostia River: Ward 7 comes in at 19 percent unemployment and Ward 8 is "north of 30 percent" said Gray. "That's where we need to make...investments," said the Council chair, even as groups of pre-school children sat legs dangling in the front row.